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@article{207405,
        author = {Umesh Kumar and Dr Arun Kumar},
        title = {MGNREGA and Women Empowerment A Sociological Study with Special Reference to Hathras District, Uttar Pradesh},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {13},
        number = {3},
        pages = {868-874},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=207405},
        abstract = {The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), enacted in 2005, is a landmark social security legislation that guarantees 100 days of wage employment per year to rural households. A salient feature of the programmed is its emphasis on women's participation, with a statutory requirement that at least one-third of beneficiaries be women. This paper examines the impact of MGNREGA on women empowerment in Hathras District, Uttar Pradesh, drawing on both primary field survey data (N=350, across all 7 development blocks, (2024–25) and secondary data from the NREGASoft MIS Portal and Census of India 2011. The study analyses women's participation across all seven development blocks Hathras, Sadabad, Sasni, Mursan, Sikandra Rao, Hasayan, and Sahpau and finds significant inter-block variation in women's job card coverage, person-days generated, and empowerment outcomes. Overall, MGNREGA has made measurable contributions to women's economic autonomy, social mobility, and political participation in the district, though structural barriers including patriarchal norms, wage payment delays, and limited worksite facilities continue to constrain full gender-equitable implementation},
        keywords = {MGNREGA, Women Empowerment, Hathras District, Block-wise Analysis, Gram Panchayat, Case Study, Financial Inclusion, Gender Disparity, NREGASoft MIS Portal},
        month = {August},
        }